Dr. Osei Darkwa, President of Ghana Technology University College, has charged government to adopt Solar Photovoltaic Energy Systems to resolve the nation’s recurrent energy crisis.

According to him, the adoption of solar PV energy would help the nation meet the growing demand for alternative energy and also address concerns over environmental problems posed by fossil fuels.

Dr. Darkwa, who was speaking at the launch of Solar PV training programme recently, said the use of PV energy could mitigate the high cost of energy in the country.

He said inadequate and unreliable energy supply and the high utility costs to consumers could be curtailed if government takes a critical look at alternative sources of affordable energy to support the country’s economic growth.

“Solar energy is one of the most promising alternative energy options in the future because it is known to be non-polluting, clean and have minimal operation costs,” Dr. Darkwa said.

“The looming energy shortage, coupled with environmental problems associated with the use of oil and gas, must influence the nation to invest in a much-expanded clean energy supply like Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Energy Systems,” Dr. Darkwa said.

He said Ghana’s energy crisis has been largely driven by the high demand for power for both residential and commercial use, as well as high operational costs.

Dr. Darkwa said for Ghana to reach her energy policy target of increasing solar power generation capacity from the current level of 2,000 megawatts to 5,000 by 2020, the energy sector must educate engineers on the fundamental principles of solar systems.